ICGUIRE /ednesday • April 1, 1998
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outside. I likegf iditorials appearing in The Battalion reflect the
t . v j t > of the editorials board members. They do not
■ , 1 ^H|ss ar ily reflect the opinions of other Battalion
my job. H members, the Texas A&M student body, re-
5 one of the tour eiltei administration, faculty or staff. Columns,
' Uesi columns, cartoons and letters express the
ors on a yetingir ipj n j ()nso f t j leaut j lors
team, McGuire’s !on|act the opinion editor for information on sub-
ribution to the M n gg uest columns,
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Editorials Board
llffany Inbody
Editor in Chief
Helen Clancy
Copy Chief
Brad Graeber
Visual Arts Editor
Mandy Cater
Opinion Editor
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• JHADING BY EXAMPLE
idents provided opportunity to support
candidates’commitment to campus
$1 It’s time again for A&M students to
Pose their leaders. Kiosks are plas-
d with campaign flyers and signs
U'om campus lawns. Although these
paigns may be the brunt of some
■teal jokes, voting for student lead-
’ Evans added rs s * loul( ^ b e ta ken seriously.
intly encouragingf e ^ artlleS , S , 0f their individual
re's so emotional “# ces on P latform lsslles ' each can -
shman pitcher
addir
Mate has proven by their desire to
un for election that they are commit-
agictd, ed io improving this campus. Their ef-
should at least earn the consider-
piunersc tioo of students at the ballots today
a knows how; nd tomorrow.
essures of thegiM 0 many students find it easier to
Lewis said. “I tMniss elections as trivial attempts to
herself so: epi esent a diverse, yet apathetic con
ic she puts herst tituent: the student body,
oesn 't think sbij ■’his critical attitude achieves noth-
s she is.” ; Bit only proves the apathy to be true,
luire has certainl ilt is widely known that student
rt in helping pn anipaigns rely heavily on annoying
g staff that has irlpaganda and cheesy slogans. But
RA of 2.23 and lJ;h| underlying reason for the candi-
277.1 innings this'll 68 ’ efforts is too often overlooked by
ever, balancing Mjstudents they attempt to represent,
dth a tough ; tehind the gaudy fliers and obnoxious
schedule has ^f carc * s hes a dignified commitment
' McGuire.
to this University.
And it’s a commitment that deserves
respect—even from students who take
no interest in campus leadership.
Citizens in major cities vote for their
leaders, and since Aggies are transients
by nature, they should regard their vote
as a valuable investment for their Uni
versity. This campus is the only “city”
most students will know for the four,
five or seven years they reside here.
Just as students should avoid cyn
icism, candidates should avoid neg
ativism in the face of defeat. Only
one candidate will win each posi
tion, but this does not mean other
qualified leaders should retire from
campus politics.
Victory isn’t always the key to mak
ing a difference at this University.
Anyone with a sincere desire to ad
dress the complex issues faced by stu
dents can have an impact on the sta
tus of this campus.
Elections aren’t defined by sore
losers and sardonic jokes. Elections are
about designating candidates to lead
students in name, and appreciating
those who will lead us in spirit.
e management
pari ol beingaa
” she said. “Youli|
) give 100 per«j
ng you do, on
Id, especially
ired. That’s the
'specially when I
I weekend playif
lents.”
te the hardshi]
ired, McGuire
h trade this expa|
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e A&M and all 4
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teammates and*
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works so hard.
AMPUS CONNECTION
(ampaign signs offer
sight into candidates
a
t- > i
•FreeM'
‘Access 1 ’
ampaigners
are a differ
ent breed.
iey will approach
yone, wearing
eir crazed
liles, and lucidly
plaining why
iey are the an-
er to all of
|&M’s problems.
r ant more park-
g, fewer tests and
itter seats at
John
Lemons
columnist
i «■
e Aerial phones st;
aEZEET
3i
cm
the
*»
ions,
is,
hner,
otbaii games? Campaigners will
caiiinT.tell you they can get you these things
d much, much more.
The problem with campus cam-
aigns is they are all virtually identi-
Every candidate bleeds maroon,
very candidate wants to improve
,&M.
The downside is, every candi-
ate is annoying. Since the candi-
ates are indistinguishable, the
nly responsible way to choose
ampus leaders is by the quality of
eir campaign signs. What follows,
a critique of this year’s best and
rorst campaign signs.
If you want to find indistinguish-
ble candidates, you need look no
arther than the campaigns being
un for yell leader by members of
he Corps of Cadets.
Each of these candidates’ signs
onsist of a black and white picture
)f a young man wearing a Corps
iniform surrounded by his name in
naroon and white. I dare say, if their
tames were removed from the signs,
he candidates own mothers would
lave difficulty telling which one is
which.
Apparently, the Corps is cloning
heir yell leader candidates. This
does seem to be an effective move,
as each year several cadets manage
o get elected to the position. Al
though I do have ethical concerns
about the nature of cloning, electing
dentical quintuplets as yell leaders
is appealing.
The Corps should not feel too
badly about their signs, though, as
all the non-reg yell leader signs
seem to consist of a smiling guy in a
pair of overalls making a gig ‘em
sign.
Scott Muse has the best sign in
this genre. In his picture, Muse
wears a milk mustache. The sign
asks, “Got Muse?” Now, this makes
me want to vote for the guy, so long
as he does not wear the milk mus
tache to games. The other outstand
ing yell leader sign belongs to David
Grotheim, who claims two out of
three kids prefer Grotheim to
spankings, based on a survey of
three kids, that is. Frankly, I think
most Aggies prefer spankings to
campus elections.
The best campaign signs, how
ever, belong to the Student Body
President candidates. These signs
attempt to cajole, inspire and con
nect candidates to something vot
ers will remember.
Consider Laurie Nickel’s cam
paign signs. Each one features a
picture of a nickel. Do you get it?
Her name is Nickel and the sign has
a picture of nickel.
She is trying to associate herself
with money, something we all know
and love. Unfortunately, a nickel is
not that much money. Too bad Nick
el’s last name is not $100 bill. That
would secure my vote.
Easily the most inspirational
signs belong to Joe Forman. Each
of his signs declare, “i can.” But,
what can he do? All 1 know, is
when I look at Forman’s signs, I feel
inspired to do something, I’m just
not sure what.
Craig Rotter’s signs tap the rarely
sought after poultry science major-
block. His signs look suspiciously
like those advertising the Dixie
Chicken.
From the looks of it, Rotter in
tends to associate himself with the
getting drunk at the Chicken. If he
gets elected, perhaps the student
senate will move their meetings to
the Chicken. I am sure they will ac
complish more there than they have
accomplished this year.
My favorite sign, however, does
not belong to a yell leader or student
body president candidate. It belongs
to Lee Doggett, who is running for
student senate.
Doggett’s signs state “PTTS
shouldn’t be a four letter word.” I
agree with Doggett, PTTS shouldn’t
be a four letter word. Fortunately,
those of us who speak English real
ize it is not a word. PTTS is a vowel
short of being a word.
Well, elections must be decided
on some basis, and campaign
signs are about as good a basis as
any. Obviously, this was not a com
prehensive critique of this year’s
signs. These were just some of the
signs that stood out in my mind. I
leave the job of comparing and
judging all of the signs to the vot
ers, who will surely vote for the
best sign, err, candidate.
John Lemons is an electrical
engineering graduate student.
PERSPECTIVES
Looney toons
Cartoon characters mock psychological issues
T here
is a
chil
dren’s pro
gram many
of us have
grown up
watching,
and at first
glance
would
seem
harmless.
But that is
just what we are supposed to
believe. When one looks closely
at this “children’s program” one
will see a bunch of cruel mock
eries of human flaws.
Jim Henson’s muppets are a
cruel knock at just about every
body in the world. Every mup-
pet has some sort of problem
that is belittled and exploited
just to make people laugh. In the
late 1800’s, the rich would take
trips to Bedlam to laugh at those
with mental disorders. In today’s
society, all one has to do is go to
Sesame Street.
Many of these muppets have
serious problems that would re
quire professional help. Look
closely at Cookie Monster. Noth
ing could be more hilarious than
a little blue monster running
around eating everything in
sight, but that muppet has a se
rious eating disorder. He is al
ways eating, but he never gets
full, and if you watch closely, he
never swallows anything. He
clearly has bulimia.
Then there is the other blue
muppet, Grover. Grover suffers
from a clear case of bipolar dis
order. One minute he is de
pressed, the next he is pretend
ing to be “Super Grover,”
(clearly a mania-induced delu
sion of grandeur).
He is clearly in need of some
help before he causes some seri
ous damage to himself or some
one else while suffering from ei
ther a depressive or manic
episode. It does not matter,
though, because we find it fun
ny, and so long as it makes us
laugh it does not matter who
gets hurt.
Oscar the Grouch is another
jab at the less fortunate. Most
people would probably be
grouchy to if they were homeless.
Additionally, most homeless peo
ple suffer from mental diseases.
Oscar suffers from a clear
case of obsessive-compulsive
disorder. That is why he lives in
a garbage can, because he does
not want to throw anything
away. But all we see is an angry
muppet confined to a garbage
can, that we find amusing.
Gonzo of the “Muppet Show”
is a clear example of this in
sensitivity on another Jim Hen
son program. Here is a muppet
with a serious deformity. He is
reminded of this every time he
looks in the mirror, not to men
tion every time another muppet
picks him up and swings him
across the stage by his hook-
beak. Children learn that pick
ing on people with physical de
formities is quite all right, as
long as it is funny.
Additionally he is repeatedly
scorned by the muppet that he
pines for, Miss Piggy. But she con
stantly, and often violently rejects
i his feelings. Gonzo is driven to
hang out with a flock of chickens,
with which he has many mean
ingless, womanizing (chickeniz-
ing?) relationships. Is that lowly
pun lost on anyone else?
Since we are talking about
Miss Piggy, what kind of role
model does she really make for
young women? Sure, she has
taken karate, but that is her only
redeeming quality. First, she is a
pig. Second, she is overbearing,
obnoxious and materialistic.
Miss Piggy teaches young girls
that if you are perceived as
“beautiful,” you can use this to
your advantage and get away
with anything.
While she seems to only have
eyes for Kermit, she does does
not miss an opportunity to
throw herself at any of the male
guests. The blonde-haired, blue-
eyed pig also wastes no time dis
patching would-be suitors
(namely Gonzo) with karate
chops and kicks.
There are several other mup
pets who are cruel parodies of
serious situations. The effects of
these parodies, besides being J
insensitive, teach our impres
sionable children such issues as
eating disorders, mood disor
ders, physical defects and the
homeless are a laughing matter.
Perhaps the original intent
was humor, but in this society,
nothing that remotely resembles
a serious issue can be taken at
face value. Surely there are un
derlying meanings to every
thing, and it is up to us to read
into it. We cannot allow such
cruelty to influence our chil
dren’s intellectual development
or tolerance of others.
Joe Schumacher is a junior
journalism major
Joe
Schumacher
columnist
VOICE FROM THE CROWD
Graduate contributions benefit campus
Clifton
Griffin
guest
columnist
T exas A&M Uni
versity
abounds with
traditions. One of
the most beneficial
traditions for stu
dents is known as
the “other education.” This concept is
largely built on participation in one of
the over 700 student organizations
found in Aggieland.
As graduate and professional stu
dents, we are often unwilling or unable
to get involved in “life” outside of re
search, teaching and course work, and as
a result of our sometimes “isolationistic”
lifestyle, we may not develop a holistic
approach to life after academia.
The benefits of the “other education” at
A&M are many, but they definitely in
clude development of leadership, com
munication and social skills which are of
ten essential in order to thrive in the
professional world.
Furthermore, A&M undergraduates and
administration often perceive that gradu
ate students are not interested in partic
ipating in the “other education.”
For those who need to be reminded, I
would like to make the following observa
tions:
1. A graduate student is now the editor
of The Battalion.
2. A graduate student is the new chair
of the Parking, Traffic and Transportation
Services, Student Advisory Committee.
Hopefully, we will see proactive recom
mendations from this group which serves
in a very important area.
3. A graduate student is the new chair
of the Student Services Fee Allocation
Board, which is responsible for making
decisions on disbursement of millions of
dollars in Student Services Fees.
4. Graduate students outnumber un
dergraduates consistently for their contin
ued service to the Student Advisory Com
mittee of the A&M Library system.
The library system is one of the most
important infrastructure components
of our university, and all students
should make it a priority to give input
when asked.
5. Graduate student issues are a being
addressed (for the first time) on Student
Body President candidate platforms.
Some candidates are recognizing that
they may become the primary advocate .
for all members of the student body.
6. Along with faculty and research con
cerns, much-needed attention on gradu
ate education, is a primary focus for A&M
Vision 20/20 aspirations.
7. The Graduate Student Council has
maintained consistent representation
from across the campus with no less
than 50 individuals at any meeting over
the last two semesters.
8. The Graduate Student Council has
worked closely with the Association of For
mer Students (AFS) staff and other dedi
cated individuals in order to ask the AFS
Ring Committee for changes in policy
which will allow graduate and professional
students to order their rings at completion
of 60 hours at A&M or graduation, which is
equal to the transfer student policy.
I could give many other examples of
graduate students doing their part to be
fully involved in the entire educational ex
perience at A&M, and I admit giving these
observations for the following reason.
Many graduate and professional stu
dents are involved in the “other educa
tion.” We are not two-percenters.
We make up 18 percent of the student
body, and many of us are tremendously
active. It is not acceptable to say that all
graduate and professional students are
only here to “get a degree.”
Aside from the previous examples, the
Graduate Student Council has worked on
many other important issues, including
Graduate Enhancement Funds allocation,
the Graduate Student environment at
A&M, Student Research Week, equal pay
for equal work concerns and Student
Health Center Fee concerns.
Aside from the “other education,” grad
uate and professional students are en
gaged in a majority of the teaching and re
search which takes place at this university.
Without a conscious effort from the
administration to establish and/or
maintain high-quality graduate and
professional programs at A&M, we will
never reach this lofty, yet very attainable
and desirable, top-ten academic univer
sity aspiration which we desire.
It will take some enlightened leader
ship that is willing to make tough deci
sions in favor of concepts which have
not always been a “tradition” in Ag
gieland. The decisions of today will con
tinue to mold the look of our university
for the future.
I challenge my fellow students to get
involved and stay involved with activi
ties outside of time-consuming research
and teaching.
Personally, I ensure that my tenure as
GSC President has broadened my per
spective and goals in ways I never
dreamed, and the time I have put in has
rewarded me many times over.
There is no reason why similar activi
ties can’t help other students.
Furthermore, I challenge all graduate
and professional students to educate
themselves about University issues and to
vote in student elections.
All students can and should vote in
these elections, and just as with any sys
tem, our university will be only as good as
the input we give.
I also challenge faculty to encourage
student development through multiple •
professional/social activities. The days '
where graduate students were merely
“slave labor” are over. We deserve and J
demand the opportunity to empower *
ourselves through interactions which
encourage us to grow professionally.
Finally, graduate and professional stu- ^
dents are a major component of this uni- *
versity. We are growing in importance,
and we must continue be do our part to "
ensure that an A&M degree continues to
grow in respect and stature.
In short, graduate and professional stu- •
dents don’t make the University, we just
make it work..
Clifton Griffin is president of Graduate
Student Council and is a wildlife and
fisheries sciences graduate student. ..